Lucky for me, half of this weekend’s chores I just accomplished on New Year’s Eve, before putting on my party dress & popping the champagne, I broke out the sweats & swept & scrubbed my apartment floors to give my place a fresh start for the year! I felt so good getting ready that night knowing I was coming home to a house that would look & smell so fresh! So floors, CHECK!

Now flowers for my home, I buy on a pretty regular basis, especially on days of dinner parties, ladies over for cocktails, or when I need a little extra cheer. My favorite florist is Cattails(http://cattailsflowers.com) on Division Street, Chicago. The owner finds flowers, greens & blooms that look like they were just cut in the wild and brought back from the pond. I love that nontraditional bouquet! Below is a pick of this week’s flowers find!

Green cleaners are no stranger in my home, below a picture. I use vinegar & baking soda often. For harder to clean items I will purchase a green scrub that really penetrates dirt & grime. For cleaning essentials, paper towels are a thing of the past. I have a rag drawer in my pantry & I treat these like paper towels then they go through the wash so I’m cutting down on waste.

As for my “outbox” everything got shredded. No need for old mail & bills to sit around.

Thanks so much for reading about my Cure!

Below is Maxwell’s Day 3 January Cure for the weekend!

Buy Flowers. This might seem “skippable” but is a very important part of the Cure. Think of the purchase as a gift to your home. We’ll be doing this weekly throughout the month. It is an enjoyable, (affordable!) luxury but it goes far beyond just that. The flowers are a visual symbol of your commitment to caring for your home. In the Eight Step Home Cure, Maxwell wrote: As simple as it sounds, the act of buying flowers for your apartment holds great significance and will heal your home on many levels. They are beautiful, they add life to the space, they help to humidify and cleanse the air. Try and find time to pick up flowers (see “Helpful Links” below for suggestions and info) on your way home on Friday if at all possible so you can enjoy them all weekend!- Vacuum the Rugs and Mop/Dry Mop the Floors. Take your time and do this job right; move things out of the way as you go and pretend you have to pass “inspection” when you are through – really do your best. As stated in the book, When you embark on renewing your home, it is important that you break the ice and get to know it intimately. The best way to do this is to clean it.

This floor cleaning task will have you connect with each room you are curing and will help you to spot problems with flow and clutter that needs clearing in the coming weeks. Completing this task well will take a while but trust us, it will make a huge difference in how clean your home feels and actually IS. Turn on some music (see reader recommendations in the “Helpful Links” below) and get it done!

– Stock Up on Good Green Cleaners. You’ll be doing plenty of good old-fashioned cleaning this month, so gathering healthy supplies now is a must. As Maxwell explains: We use cleaning products in our homes every day and many of these common products are harmful to the environment and to our own health as well. However, there are now many natural cleaning products that do these jobs extremely well. Earth-friendly products help give your home a healthier feel because they don’t leave artificial lingering strong or chemical smells.

Choose your own tried and true products to stock up your cleaning kit or check out the “Helpful Links” section below for some good posts full of reader intelligence on favorites. You’ll need (at least) the basics: dish soap, laundry detergent, general floor cleaner, surface powder, bathroom cleaner and a vinegar and water window cleaner (which you can make yourself – see Helpful Links again).

– Use Your Outbox as You Go. We’ll be scheduling time to work on decluttering by room as we move through the Cure, but there is no reason to hold back if you come across items as you are doing your chores this weekend that you want to put in the outbox. There is no time like the present – if you are inspired to clear it out and move it to the outbox, go for it!